In the processing of birds or poultry, such as for example chickens, ducks, turkeys and the like, it has long been known to suspend birds in a head downward position, by slotting their feet into shackles of an overhead conveyor such as an overhead chain conveyor. Such a conveyor moves the birds through a number of stations, such as for example, a stunning station, a killing station, a bleeding station, a scalding station, a defeathering station, and finally, a dehocking station where the legs of the slaughtered birds are severed at the knee joint (for example, by means of a rotating hock cutter). Such a hock cutting operation results in the birds (now without lower legs) falling onto a table, chute or conveyor belt for eventual rehanging on a further spaced apart conveyor, such as for subsequent eviscerating.
There have been a number of disadvantages with such processes, including the cross-contamination of carcasses as they lay heaped on a table awaiting rehanging and the chance of repetitive strain injury to operators who have to lift the birds and force them into shackles in an eviscerating conveyor. This latter disadvantage is particularly apparent with some large birds, such as large turkeys, which may weigh 20 kg or more. In addition, the cost for such processes have been high as they are labor intensive. These processes have also often been inefficient.
Health and hygiene laws in many countries now require separate conveyor systems to be used for slaughtering and eviscerating.
It is known to provide arrangements which transfer birds or carcasses from one conveyor to another, but such arrangements only allow for the passing of a bird or carcass from one conveyor to another at substantially equal spacings. That is, equal spacings from one bird to another.
It has been found that such arrangements are not always appropriate and in particular, they are not always appropriate for the requirements of the operators. For example, it may be the case that shackles attached to a conveyor can be spaced one from another (and thus, the attached birds spaced from one another) by varying spacings, such as for example, 4 inches, 6 inches, 8 inches, 12 inches, or the like. The optimum spacing is determined not only by the size of the bird, but also by purpose. For example, in the case of chickens, an 8 inch spacing between carcasses may be advantageous and appropriate when the bird is being killed and defeathered, while a spacing of only 6 inches may be required and appropriate when the bird is going through an eviscerating process. In the case of a larger bird, such as a turkey, an initial spacing appropriate for killing and defeathering may be from approximately 10 inches to 12 inches. An appropriate spacing for the eviscerating of the turkey, however, may only be approximately 8 inches.
Thus, while known arrangments allow for the transfer of birds, or carcasses from one conveyor to another at substantially the same or regular spacings, there is clearly a need to provide an arrangement which allows for the birds or carcasses to be transferred from one conveyor (where they are at one particular spacing) to a spaced apart conveyor (where they are at spacings different from the first conveyor). It may also be desired to transfer birds from, for example, an eviscerating conveyor to a conveyor leading to a chilling chamber, in a manner such that the spacings will differ from one conveyor to another. Also, the spacings required may vary depending upon the nature and size of the bird concerned.